May E-News

Don’t look back to last season…it’s time to start planning for next season!

It’s never too soon to start your planning for next season. Summer will come and go, much sooner than you think! Remember that school administrations take time off and may not be available when you are ready for them to issue a purchase order or write a check. Trying to purchase new team apparel with your school administration on summer vacation can set your team order back by weeks (if not months). So, don’t wait until June or July to begin your order; start the creative process NOW!

Request a custom sketch for your team!Make sure that you leave enough time to consider your new designs and complete your ordering process. Take into account the time it will take to have conversations with our customer service/design staff and your fellow coaches regarding fabric choices, design questions, and more. Then, take a look at our deadlines for Guaranteed Deliveryto know when to start! Be sure to forward your photos and design notes to us, to help us to sketch what you might be imagining!

If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Satin Stitches’ showroom and production facility, schedule an appointment this summer! Whether you live in-state, out-state or out-of-state, we would love to show you around! We create custom and customizable performance apparel for teams from all across North America and we would love for you to come and see where we do our magic!

We pride ourselves on doing everything in-house except for lettering (we partner with a local, experienced lettering company that does exceptional work). We have cutting, sewing, rhinestoning, customer service, marketing, illustrating and CAD patternmaking experts who collectively work together to create unique designs for your unique team! Come and look us over!

Spot Cleaning

What do you do when the armpits of your hard-to-clean costume get a little less than desirable or you're unexpectedly spilled your taco salad on your uniform? It's moments like these that require acting fast with spot cleaning!

When you have a costume or uniform that is potentially difficult to launder by the usual methods such as dry cleaning or machine and/or hand washing, rather than just wearing it dirty, you can target specific areas by spot cleaning.

For flawless spot cleaning technique, simply follow these guidelines:

First, grab a neutral colored wash cloth and a small dab of some sort of soap - liquid laundry detergent, bath soap, hand soap and even dish soap will work! Neither the type nor the brand is important. The key is to use only a 'small dab'. Moisten your wash cloth and add just a touch of the soap. Gently rub the area that has been soiled, so that the spot becomes slightly wet. Be careful not to create suds, simply use your washcloth and 'small dab' of soapy water to dislodge the stain or dirt. (If you do not have access to a wash cloth, then improvise with using part of a clean T-shirt or similar fabric. Paper towels work in a pinch, but disintegrate, leaving paper residue all over your garment – but this is probably better than maintaining a bright red spot in the middle of your costume!)

Do not get the soiled area too wet or rub too much. This will help protect against problems with the fabric.

NEVER try anything on the 'front and center' area of your costume first, just in case anything horrible happens! If you can test your spot cleaning on an unobtrusive area of your costume first, that is preferred.

Once you have successfully spot cleaned your costume,you will need to dry the area. The best option is to use a neutral colored dry towel to blot or 'feather' the area. This 'feathering' technique avoids creating a ring where the wet area was by diffusing the wetness. To dry, gently rub the dry towel onto the edge of the wet area, pulling the moisture awayfrom the wet areaand into the dry area.

Finally, allow the costume to dry naturally. If you are in a hurry, place the wet area in front of a fan or (worst case scenario) use a hair dryer's cold setting or a public bathroom hand-dryer. If you see a ring forming, as it is drying, redo your ‘feathering’ between the dry and wet areas.

If your soapy water doesn't do the trick, you might need to try some other options. Refer to several articles and blogs posted on our website that can be helpful for stubborn stains.

Satin Stitches Ltd. is the only national custom costume manufacturer that specializes in high quality dance, show choir and procheer costumes and uniforms that was founded by a professional fashion designer. Satin Stitches Ltd. was created nearly 40 years ago, and has always specialized in custom performance apparel.